Familiar Chords

A popular Israeli singer-songwriter team has struck a nerve with an album composed of songs that deal with a theme unusual in the world of pop music: The Holocaust. Six months after its release by CBS Records’ Tel Aviv subsidiary, “Ashes and Dust� has sold 35,000 copies, making it a solid best seller in the small Israeli market. And singer-composer Yehuda Poliker is booking 15 concerts a month to meet the demand.

Calling the concerts “phenomenal� communal experiences, Poliker added, “It’s almost unbelievable--they (the audience) sing the ‘Ashes and Dust’ title song word for word.�

Poliker and songwriter Yaacov Gilad met a decade ago, but didn’t realize they were both children of Holocaust survivors until their mothers met and one noticed the other’s concentration camp number tattooed on a forearm. The two men wrote all but two of the LP’s songs, which deal with the horrors of the Holocaust and the memories and fears that continue in the families of survivors today.

A documentary, “Because of That War,� has been filmed, with Poliker, Gilad and members of their families frankly discussing their lives. A national release is expected before summer’s end and U.S. distribution is being negotiated.